SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is slashing almost 10 per cent of its global workforce and sharply revising downward its 2014 outlook as it exits underperforming businesses and imposes more cost-cutting measures.

Montreal-based SNC said Thursday it will over the next 18 months scale back some activities and restructure and streamline some of its operations and corporate structure, including cutting about 4,000 jobs – or 9 per cent – of the workforce starting next year.

The engineering firm that has been remaking itself after a two-year corruption scandal also said it is revising its 2014 earnings-per-share guidance to $2.15-to-$2.40 from previous guidance of $2.80-to-$3.05. If the impact of the recent acquisition of oil-and-gas company Kentz Corp. is factored in, the EPS forecast for the year drops to between 40 cents and 55 cents.

The revisions do not take into account the eventual gain on the sale of SNC’s interest in Alberta power transmission company AltaLink, the company said.

The new outlook is mainly based on continuing difficulties in the mining and metallurgy businesses, which have been hit by the slumping commodities markets, SNC said.

Also hurting the bottom line is the impact of “certain legacy projects” in the infrastructure and construction and “pre-Kentz” oil and gas sub-segments, the company said.